Paper-drying apparatus



F. P. REED.

PAPER DRYING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED FEB. e, 1920.

- Patented 061;. 10,192.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

F. P. REED.

PAPER DRYING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED FEB. s, 1920.

Patented Oct. 311), 11922.,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

QM WVW.

Patented Get. 10, 1922..

ui'rso STATES pm,

v IEREDIERIC PAYSON REED, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, '10 CHARLES C. ORCUTT.

PAPER-DRYING- APPARATUS.

Application filed February 6, 1920. Serial No. 356,669.

To all whom it may concern: a screen is that a temperature is possible 55 Be it known that I, FREDERIC PAYSON which would quickly scorch ordinary dryer REED, a citizen of the United States, residfelts. By utilizing a metal screen and diat No. 234 N. Grove Street, East Orange, rect heating, the heat, losses are reduced to in the county of Essex, State of New a minimum and a high paper speed is per- Jersey, have invented certain new and usemissible. 50 ful Improvements in Paper-Drying Appa- Another advantage of using a screen havratus; and I do hereby declare the following ample air spaces, with heat passing ing to be a full, clear, and exact descriptherethrough, is that the highly heated air tion of the invention, such as will enable of the room is circulated and passed upothers skilled in the art to which it apper- Wardly to the under side of the paper. The 65 tains to make and use the same. currents of air also substantially surround The present invention is a quick drying all the metal used, so that there is no stickapparatus to be utilized in connection with ing l nclclent to highly heated material coma F ourdrinier machine, or other paper mak- 111g 1n contact with the soft, pulpy, moist ing apparatus, and is intended to supplant surface of the paper. the bulky and expensive drying rolls now Another advantage incident to the use of utilized with such machines. By reason a metal web or belt is the absence of local of the intense heat applied, and the directshrinkage or change in form of the belt.

ness of its application, the necessary dry- Still another important advantage is that ing can be accomplished quickly and effiby the use of the screen belt it is not neces ciently. sary, at the time of any stoppage of the It is well known that in ordinary paper machlne, to lift the paper from the belt, making machines, the paper passes from a provided the heat is to be cut off, for by 25 series f press ll t a d i apparatus reason of the air spaces, air currents quickly which consists of a large number of steamcarry the scorching heated air out of conheated cylinders, sometimes thirty or more, tact With the paper, and at the same time, carrying a felt belt or apron. The paper, cooler, unheated air is drawn in underneath in such machines, is thus separated from the paper. Also, at the time that the paper 30 the source of heat by a solid damp belt 18 stopped, no attention is required in conthrough which, by conduction, the heat nection with condensed steam, always prespasses to the paper. ent 1n the case of steam-heated rolls, and

According to the present invention, the there 15 no excessive steam in the drying paper is carriedon a metal screen, or the SGCtIOII Of the mill. It has been found that 35 like, and receives its heat more directly and the moisture driven fromthe paper offsets more efiectively. the drying action of the heater, and a sub The drier of the present invention may stantlally normal atmosphere is maintained. be constructed in the form of a table with a The foregoing advantages, and others, traveling screen top, but other suitable wlll be manifest from the following descrip 4o means for carrying the paper may be utilawn of the drawings forming a part of this lized whereby it is passed over a source of specificatlon, whereinheat, directly applied. Whatever the form Flgure 1 1s an elevational view'of a porof machine used, dry air of high temperation of the devlce introduced after the press ture is applied directly to the surface of the r lls and drying cyllnders of a Fourdrinier 45 traveling paper. machine;

An advantage of the apparatus embody- F g. 2 shows the remaining portion of the 1100 ing this invention is that the paper, in device of Fig. 1, and, taken with Fig. 1, traveling over the drier, is not subjected to hows two of the dry ng tables, and a pluundue stresses such as may arise from rall y of drying cylinders equipped in a at changes in the usual hot, moist carrying m nn r Slmll r 0 t yi g tables;

apron or felt. Likewise, there are no Fig. 3 shows in detail a single table smooth, highly heated surfaces to which the quipped with a wire screen belt; pa er might adhere. Fig. 4 shows in detall a single drying table Knother advantage incident to the use of having a modified form of belt;

Fig. 5 shows a top plan view of a drying table with paper in position upon the screen belt and its supports;

Fig. 6 shows the screen of the invention applied to a drying cylinder; and v Fig. 7 shows a section of a cylinder with the screen in detail, and a source of heat within the cylinder.

The last press of the Fourdrinier, or like machine, represented at the left of Fig. 1, delivers the paper 1 to one or more drying cylinders 2, which pass the paper to one or more of the drying tables which may be duplicated at will. The table or bench 3 carries upon its top 1 at each end thereof frame members 5 supporting thereupon guide rolls 6 which may be power driven for carrying and driving the screen belt or apron 7.

The screen belt, later to be described in detail, moves over and across a series of hot plates 8 which are mounted transversely on the table, and suitably supported at the ends of the table upon the frame member They are mounted at their edges intermediate the ends of the table upon frame members 9. Ben'eath the several hot plates thus provided are transverse burners 10, which in one form comprise gas pipes having staggered outlets therein. The outlets are provided with the usual individual gasburners whereby a uniform flame is applied to the under surface of the hot plates 8. The burners may, of course, be replaced by resistance wires forming electric heaters, or by any other direct heating source applicable to this invention.

The length of the drying table is not lim ited, although there is shown upon. the top thereof three frames 9 with lOllS'll carrying the screen belt 7. The upper surface of these rolls contacts with the screen belt 7 and serves to support said belt and the paper carried thereupon.

When the paper has crossed one of these drying tables, it leaves the screen belt 7 and passes to anotherportion of the machine. Belt 7 passes downwardly around tension pulley 16 and guide roller 17 as shown.

Beyond the drying tables are cylinders 18, 19 and 20 which have screens secured upon their outer surfaces. ,The cylinders 18, 19

. and 20 are heated upon their interiors, the

heating apparatus in this case, for illustration only, being shown as a gas burner 21 which is duplicated transversel of the cylinder as practice may dictate. ther sources of heat may be used in place of the gas burners shown.

While in Fig. 2 the surface of the drying table is shown as straight and Horizontal, the hot plates may be disposed in the form of a gentle slope to the center of the table, and from the center downwardlyto the other end as shown in Fig. The convexity may be greater than that shown in Fig. 3. l R

The screen belt forming part of this inventioncomprises a wire netting (Fig. 5) of woven or interlaced members (Fig. 7) of any suitable cross section, and of moisture and corrosion resisting material not distorted by heat, having air spaces as large as'possible consistent with a firmly made mesh, screen, net, or similar formation. That is to say, the wires or corresponding parts, may be reduced to the minimum in cross section, and made infrequent, or they may be made as large and frequent as practice may dictate, it being obvious that the net should be made of an endless form with no tendency to distort in the direction of its length or breadth. As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5, it comprises a single web of netting of somewhat greater width than the. paper to be handled, and either maintained by tension rolls in the taut condition, or stretched upon cylinders in a neat close-fitting manner by proper fastening means, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Perforated members, such as are formed by punching sheets can be used.

A modification of the foregoing construction of screen belt, hot plates and table will be seen in Fig. 4:,where the screen belt is mounted upon,- and; properly fastened to, a thin flexible metal belt 12 maintained under tension. Care she: lbe taken to have the materials of the screen and the thin metal N belt of the same coefficient of expansion, so that there shall be no puckering of the screen above the belt. I

This double belt. travels across the table in a manner similar to that already described, although it will be noted that the intermediate frames 9, are modified in Fig. 1. By using the thin metal belt 12, the hot plates 8, shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, are done away with so that the heat sources 10 are uniformly distributed and spaced with the guide rolls 11 on the top of the table. In this manner well distributed heat is applied to the drying belt throughout. its travel across the table. e

Although the drawings do not show it, the paper is carried from the drying tables and cylinders to awinding roll, well-known in the art and properly omitted from the drawings of this application. 7

The terms mesh, netting and screen, used herein, are intended to refer to and include all construction of similar formation capable of performing the functions herein described, whether they be foraminous, perforate or of like formation, and of metal or any other material, in the form of wire or the like.

It is not intended to limit the foregoing invention to the drying of paper in its manufacture, for it is obvious that the invention may beadvantageously used'in the drying of wall paper and many other materials and manufactured articles. I

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described hereinabove, and illustrated in the drawings, no limitation to the precise structure comprised in such disclosure is contemplated, excepting in so far as may necessarily be imposed by the language of the appended claims, since the invention is thoroughly susceptible of considerable modification and change within the scope of said claims, and since parts of the invention as disclosed may be employed without others, and in other and different environments.

I claim:

1. In a drying apparatus, a source of heat, a substantially horizontal plate heated thereby, a screen belt in close proximity to said plate and adapted to carry the material to be dried, and supporting and driving means for said belt, said screen belt enclosing a layer of air above the hot plate, heated thereby, and passed to the surface of the material to be dried.

2. In an apparatus for drying material, an imperforate stationary surface over which the material is passed, means to heat said surface, and a perforate member in close proximity to said imperforate surface for supporting the material, means for moving said perforate member over the imperforate surface, said perforate member serving to space the material from the heated imperforate surface and serving to confine between the material and the heated imperforate surface a relatively large layer of air.

3. In an apparatus for drying material a source of heat, a surface distributing said heat, a paper carrying member traveling across said heating surface in close proximity thereto and having passages through which heated air may travel and impinge directly upon the paper.

4:. In an apparatus for drying material, a substantially horizontal heated surface, and means between said surface and the material for supporting the material, said means contacting with the material and with the surface over relatively close set restricted areas, and the said means being perforate to permit the free circulation of air between the material and the said surface.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

FREDERIC PAYSON REED. 

